Taylorsville rolled out the blue-and-gold spirit for its 30th annual City Awards Night, bringing employees, volunteers and public safety personnel together for an evening of recognition, appreciation and community pride.

Held May 14 at the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center, this year’s event featured an “Awards Rally” theme, complete with school-spirit decor and plenty of cheers for the city’s honorees. The theme also tied into a milestone year for Taylorsville, which is celebrating 30 years since its incorporation on July 1, 1996.

Mayor Kristie Overson delivered the annual State of the City address, titled “Then and Now: Cheering on 30 Years of Taylorsville,” reflecting on the city’s growth from its historic roots as “Over Jordan” to the thriving community it is today. She highlighted major progress in parks, public safety, transportation, economic development, community events and the continued success of Centennial Plaza as a gathering place for residents.

“The scoreboard of a great city is not measured in points,” Mayor Overson said. “It is measured in service, sacrifice, vision, kindness and community. And, certainly, by that measure, Taylorsville is winning in every way.”

The evening honored city employees, volunteers and Taylorsville Police Department personnel. This year’s city awards carried the rally theme with titles such as the Team Spirit Award, Sideline Superstar Award and Most Valuable Player.

Taylorsville Police Chief Brady Cottam also presented several department honors, including lifesaving, meritorious service, distinguished service and annual employee of the year awards.

Read the full State of the City address at the link above, then select each award title below to learn more about this year’s honorees and view their photos. You can also browse a gallery of photos from the evening and see more candid moments and Team Taylorsville spirit in the collage at the end of the article.

Congratulations to this year’s honorees:

Milestone Recognitions – Recognizing several employees for their years of service to the city.

Team Spirit Award – Receptionist Betsy Valora.

Lifesaving Award – Officers Mecham and Camacho; Officer Hood.

Sideline Superstar Award – Facilities employee Donovan Goodwin.

TVPD Distinguished Service Award – Officer Johnson.

Game Changer Award – Code Enforcement Manager Kathleen Richins.

TVPD Meritorious Service Award – Officer Haggard; Officer Ipsen.

Team Pride Award – Facilities Manager Joey Bona.

TVPD Supervisor of the Year– Sgt. Hill.

Officer of the Year – Officer Jones.

Detective of the Year – Det. O’Neil.

Civilian Employee of the Year – Evidence Manager Keith Stephens.

Hustle & Heart Award – Cemetery Sexton Suzie Smith.

TVPD Unit Citation – TVPD’s Violent Crimes Unit: Sgt. Hill; Dets. Barrett, Tan, O’Neil, Smith, Dean, Fullwood and Johnson.

Chief’s Award – Stephanie and Jordan Tomsic; Government Relations Specialist John Hiskey.

Most Valuable Player Award – Renee Sorensen.